A ‘Steak’ Dinner With Vegetarians in Mind

Cheese-topped cauliflower, roasted to perfection, anchors this springy three-course meal from David Tanis.

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By David Tanis

Gold Futures Settle Lower

Gold prices drifted lower on Wednesday despite lingering worries about economic growth and some disappointing quarterly earnings from top U.S. companies.

The dollar’s weakness limited gold’s downside. The dollar index, which dropped to 101.01, recovered to 101.47, but still remains notably down from the previous close of 101.86.

Gold futures for June ended lower by $8.50 or about 0.4% at $1,996.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for May edged lower by $0.006 to settle at $24.876 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $3.8535 per pound, up $0.0055 from the previous close.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in March amid a substantial rebound in orders for transportation equipment.

The report said durable goods orders spiked by 3.2% in March after tumbling by a revised 1.2% in February.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8% compared to the 1% slump that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding the jump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.3% in March after falling by 0.3% in February. Ex-transportation orders were expected to dip by 0.2%.

Traders await a slew of upcoming central bank meetings, most notably the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, due over the next two weeks. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to keep its monetary policy steady on Friday.

Michelin Q1 Sales Up 7.4%

French tire maker Michelin Cie Des Estb (MGDDY.PK,MGDDF.PK) Wednesday reported first-quarter sales of 6.96 billion euros, up 7.4% from 6.48 billion euros last year.

Sales growth was driven by a 12.3% price-mix effect, reflecting the Group products’ quality and performance. The growth in high-value segments and strong Mining tire sales have more than offset an unfavorable OE/RT mix.

Looking forward, the Group confirms its projected scenario in markets trending towards the lower end of the initial ranges. Sales volumes are still expected to end the year within the -4% to -0% range.

Deutsche Boerse Q1 Profit Rises

Deutsche Boerse AG (DBOEY.PK,DBOEF.PK) reported first-quarter net profit of 473.3 million euros or 2.58 euros per share, up from 420.8 million euros or 2.29 euros per share last year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization amounted to 772.1 million euros, up from 687.4 million euros last year.

First-quarter revenues rose 14% to 1.48 billion euros from 1.30 billion euros last year.

Five-Year Note Auction Attracts Above Average Demand

The Treasury Department announced the results of this month’s auction of $43 billion worth of five-year notes on Wednesday, revealing the sale attracted above average demand.

The five-year note auction drew a high yield of 3.500 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.54.

Last month, the Treasury also sold $43 billion worth of five-year notes, drawing a high yield of 3.665 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.48.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

The ten previous five-year note auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.42.

On Tuesday, the Treasury revealed this month’s auction of $42 billion worth of two-year notes also attracted modestly above average demand.

The Treasury is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $35 billion worth of seven-year notes on Thursday.

Conmed Corp. Q1 Profit Decreases, but beats estimates

Conmed Corp. (CNMD) released a profit for first quarter that decreased from the same period last year but beat the Street estimates.

The company’s earnings totaled $1.82 million, or $0.06 per share. This compares with $15.0 million, or $0.47 per share, in last year’s first quarter.

Excluding items, Conmed Corp. reported adjusted earnings of $20.6 million or $0.66 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $0.60 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 22.0% to $295.5 million from $242.3 million last year.

Conmed Corp. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q1): $1.82 Mln. vs. $15.0 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q1): $0.06 vs. $0.47 last year.
-Analyst Estimates: $0.60
-Revenue (Q1): $295.5 Mln vs. $242.3 Mln last year.

-Guidance:
Full year EPS guidance: $3.30-$3.50
Full year revenue guidance: $1.205-$1.250 bln

Crude Oil Futures Settle Sharply Lower On Demand Concerns

Despite data showing a drop in crude inventories last week, crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Wednesday as worries about the outlook for energy demand dragged down oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June settled at $74.30 a barrel, down $2.77 or about 3.6% from the previous close.

Brent crude futures were down $2.81 or 3.52% at $77.71 a barrel a little while ago.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) this morning showed crude oil inventories decreased by 5.1 million barrels to 460.9 million barrels in the week ended April 21.

The EIA data showed gasoline inventories dropped by 2.4 million barrels to 221.1 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles decreased by 600,000 barrels to 111.5 million barrels.

Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday revealed that U.S. crude inventories fell by about 6.1 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected crude inventories to fall by about 1.7 million barrels.

Data showing a drop in U.S. consumer confidence in April has raised concerns the economy is slipping into recession this year.

It is also feared that further monetary tightening by central banks could slow economic growth and hurt energy demand in several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., and the European Union.